Duplicator carriage construction



July 10, 1934. 1.. J. SAUIER 1,965,810

I DUPLICATOR CARRIAGE CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 27. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented July 10, 1934 PATENT OFFICE DUPLICATOR CARRIAGE CONSTRUCTION Ilouis J. Sauer, Oak Park, 111., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Mary G. Joy

Application November 27, 1931, Serial No. 577,569 I Claims. (01. 101 133) This invention relates to hectograph' or duplicating machine construction and more particularly to a carriage construction for duplicating machines wherein a carriage is slidably mounted for movement back and forth over a printing bed; Machines of this type usually comprise a printing bed supported on a suitable framework and having a carriage guide rod parallel with one side thereof. One end of the carriage is mounted m for both longitudinal and pivotal movement on the rod, the opposite end of the carriage usually being supported upon the hectograph frame by means of a roller .or other suitable supporting means. The carriage, which is slidably'mounted 1; on the rod, may be moved back and forth during the printing operation or may be raised from any position for inspection of the printing surface or. for changing the gelatin apron which latter is usually mounted on the bed to provide a mprinting surface. I I The carriage frames are generally rectangular in shape and have heretofore usually been made of ca st iron, the platenlroller' and various other associated parts being mounted in the carriagev frame. I

vide a carriage frame of few parts and in which the parts or suitable sets thereof may be inter-' changeably assembled to provide carriages of '30.- different lengths or widths to conform to standard-ized quantity production of various standard sizes of duplicating machines.

Another object-isto provide a carriage. frame and mounting by means of which the guide rod 35,- andthe bearings thereon wil be kept constantly lubricated.

The carriage rotary movement on the rod when the carriage 4-0 is in any longitudinal position. It is necessary that the carriage be retained and supported in the raised position, and I, therefore, provide suitable meansassociated withthe carriage andmoved thereby, for supporting the carriage in its raised position at anypoint on the guide rod. 1

r In my inventon I provide a carriage structure which-is easyzto assemble, cheap to manufacture, and-which will be comparatively light and rigid andwill not easily get outof order. Further objects will be apparent from the specification and appended claims.

In the drawings: ;Fig,ure 1is atop plan view of the carriageframe slidablyand rotatably mounted on the guide rod 5; ddn operativeposition relative to a suitable:

Onev of the objects of my invention is to pro--v frame is mounted for slidable. movement on the rod and may also be raised by hectograph printing bed, portions of the printing bed and the guide rod mountings being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the carriage and the guide rod on which it is supported;

, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal detailed sectional View through the carriage bearings and taken on a line corresponding to line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line corresponding to line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed perspective view of sets of side bars or rails which may be interchangeably used in the carriage construction to provide carriages of different sizes.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the embodiment illustrated comprises a hectograph ma chine having the. usual side frames 1 and 2. A printing bed is supported on the side frames and provided with a printing surface 3, which latter is usually provided by means of a gelatinized apron stretched over the bed. A carriage guide rod 4 is mounted adjacent the side frame 1 and parallel therewith. The carriage comprises a rectangular frame having an end bearing bracket 5. This bracket 5 includes an upwardly extending portion 6 forming an end plate for the carriage and may be provided with suitable bearings to receive operating parts which are sup- .ported within the rectangular portion of the carria ge. The upwardlyextending end plate 6 is provided with inwardly extending ears '7, and carriage side bars 8 are secured to these cars 7 by any suitable means, preferably by spot welding.- The opposite ends of the side bars 8 are connected by means of a U-shaped end plate 9 also provided with inturned ears 10 to which the side bars 8 are secured.- This end plate 9 may be provided with aroller 11 pivoted thereon, by which the end of the carriage is movably supported on the duplicator side frame 2. The bracket 5 is also provided with an outturned portion 12 which may extend transversely to a desired distance for the purpose of spacing the guide rod bearings. The portion 12 ispr'ovided with downwardly extending portions 13 in which are secured bearing members 14., These bearing members ntay be secured in any suitable manner, as by riveting, as shown in Fig. 3. Each bearing member is provided with a bearing bushing 15 of a suitable bearing material. The bush ings 15 may bea press fit in the bearing member 12 and extend inwardly beyond the downwardly extending portions 13 of the bracket as shown in Fig. 3. Carriage stop members 16 are loosely suspended on the inwardly projecting portions of the -l=l0 bushings to support the carriage when it is in its raised position. A tube 17 is also supported on the inwardly extending portions of the bearing bushings, as shown, and provides a housing for a suitable wick or other oil-absorbent material 18.

An oil cup 19 of the usual spring and ball type is mounted in the portion 12 of the bracket 5 and communicates with the interior of the tube 17. By this means, oil may be inserted as desired, and the guide rod will be kept constantly lubricated by the movement of the carriage thereon.

The stop or supporting members 16 are suspended in spaced relation, as shown, on the bearing bushings 15. These stop members are loosely suspended on the bushings and the lower end of each member is formed to provide a receptacle 20 to receive a plug 21 of rubber or other suitable cushion material. These stop members are formed in such a manner that their center of gravity retains the rubber plug normally spaced from the side frame 1 to prevent friction thereon during the normal operation of the carriage, each stop member being provided with a shoulder 22 which is engaged by the edge of the bracket portion 12 when the carriage is raised by being rotated on the shaft 4. When the carriage is raised, this bracket portion 12 contacts with the shoulder 22 on the member 16 and the rubber plug 21 is thereby caused to engage the side of the frame 1. The carriage is therefore supported in a raised position at any location on the guide rod.

It will be noted that by means of my invention substantially the entire carriage frame may be made of sheet metal, and the carriage may be made of any desired length by means of the interchangeable side bars shown in Fig. 5.

Duplicators are made in various standard widths, and by means of this improved construction the same carriage end plates and brackets may be used for all of the various standard widths of duplicators; for instance, where three different widths of duplicators are being manufactured, it is only necessary to provide standard end plates and brackets and three lengths of side bars as illustrated at A, B, and C in Fig. 5. This is a great convenience in manufacturing and effects a considerable saving in tool and assembly costs.

It is obvious that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. I therefore desire to be limited only by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thusdesoribed my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A sheet metal duplicator carriage assembly comprising end plates having spaced inturned ears, side bars mountable on said ears toform a carriage of a desired width, one of said end plates being bent to form downwardly extending spaced ears, and bearings on said ears to slidably and pivotally engage a guide rod.

2. A sheet metal duplicator carriage construction comprising a set of end plates, a set of side bars mountable on said end plates to form a car- '1 riage frame, one of said end plates being formed to provide downwardly extending spaced portions, outwardly extending aligned bearings on said portions for engaging a guide rod, a tubular member between said bearings and around said guide rod to provide an oil reservoir therebetween, and oil absorbent material in said reservoir.

3. A sheet metal duplicator carriage frame bearing portion comprising a U-shaped bracket member, a bearing supported on each of the arms of said member for pivotal and slidable engagement with a guide rod, a tube supported between the arms of said U-shaped member and surrounding the guide rod to form a chamber therebetween and supported on said bearings, means for inserting oil in said tube, and transversely extending ears on said bracket for supporting the side bars of a duplicator carriage.

4. A duplicator carriage frame bracket comprising a vertical end plate portion and a horizontal bearing supporting portion, spaced bearings supported on said bearing portion and arranged to engage a guide rod, loosely suspended stop members adjacent each bearing and movable therewith, said carriage being arranged to engage said stop members when the carriage is raised at any point on the guide rod.

5. A duplicator carriage frame bearing portion comprising a U-shaped bracket member and a bearing supported on each of the arms of said member, a tube supported between the arms of said U-shaped member and surrounding the guide rod, means for inserting oil in said tube, and spaced stop members loosely suspended adjacent each bearing member and arranged to be engaged by said U-shaped member to support the hectograph carriage when it is raised at any point on the rod.

6. A duplicator sheet metal carriage construction comprising a bracket having upwardly and outwardly extending portions, bearings on said 165 outwardly extending portion for longitudinal and rotatable support on a guide rod; inwardly extending ears on said upwardly extending portion, side bars arranged to be secured to said ears, and an end plate for said side bars and having inwardly extending portions arranged to be secured to said side bars.

7. A sheet metal duplicator carriage comprising a bracket having a bearing portion and an end plate portion, side bars secured to said end 115 plate portion, a U-shaped end plate connecting the opposite ends of said side bars, bearings on said bearing portion for slidable and rotatable movement on a guide rod, and stop members suspended on said bearings and movable with said 120 carriage, said carriage being arranged to engage a portion of said stop members against the side frame of the duplicator to support the carriage in raised position at any point on the guide rod.

8. In a duplicator, the combination with a 125 printing bed having side frames and a carriage movable back and forth over said bed, a guide rod adjacent one of said side frames, said carriage being mounted on said rod for longitudinal and rotary movement thereon, stop members suspended adjacent and movable with said carriage and normally out of contact with said side frame, said stop members being arranged to support said carriage in its raised position by engagement with said side frame.

9. A substantially L-shaped sheet metal bearing bracket for duplicator carriages comprising an upwardly extending portion arranged to form an end plate of a carriage, an outwardly extending bearing portion, spaced downwardly extending ears on said bearing portion, aligned bearings supported in said ears and extending inwardly and arranged for slidable and pivotal movement on a guide rod, and an oil tube telescopically mounted on said inwardly extending bearings to provide an oil chamber between said rod and said tube.

10. A substantially L-shaped sheet metal bearing bracket for duplicator carriages comprising an upwardly extending portion arranged to form 150 oil chamber between said rod and said tube, and intermediate stop members freely suspended on said bearings between said tube and said bearings for engagement between said bearing bracket and a duplicator frame when the carriage is rotated on said guide rod.

LOUIS J. SAUER. 

